Sown

twenty-seven

As the group made their way out of the village, clear skies turned into snow heavy clouds, grass into snow drifts, and sunny embrace into a chilly bite against their skin. The journey started slow ; Hanae did not have the chakra control the shinobi did in order to bound through trees and summoning Hikoboshi would be too obvious until they were deep into the outskirts of the Land of Fire. Once they were in the clear the teens almost found themselves struggling to keep up with the winged beast she rode overhead. Sai's offer to summon creations of his own was met by silence.

They took a break once on the border of the Land of Iron. The native instructed them to stay still and recover. Being a transporter and samurai for over a decade she had learned well to reserve her chakra while using only the bare minimum during flight. Alone she made her way into the country. Hood pulled over her head, Hanae entered a small equipment shop laying just outside of the mountains. She knew the store well ; it was an illegal black market shop that had caused their militia problems by offering money for their armor and equipment. Popular with alcoholics looking for their next drink or thieves looking for their next buck, the owner offered small payouts and huge purchase prices. Lying at the base of the Three Wolves made it just so slightly out of their jurisdiction and thus untouchable.

"What do you want?" The owner, a muscular yet portly man, gruffed when she entered. He had multiple helmets displayed behind the counter he sat at. A handful were adorned with horns, something that made her very angry. He didn't catch the expression as her face was shrouded by the hood.

"A respirator," she answered flatly. The man looked her up and down suspiciously before turning and nabbing a respirator off of one of said helmets.

He set the respirator on the counter between them, "25,000."

Fucking hell, she thought whilst fishing her wallet out of her pocket beneath the cloak. The masks were worth only 5,500 new. But with the Kage Summit taking place inside, there was no way she could strut into the military offices without being caught up by the heightened security, local or not. She tossed the money onto the counter before snatching the mask and making her way back out into the snow.

"Umu-san," a soft vice made her leap. She whipped to the side expecting the owner. Instead she was met with Sai. "I need to tell you something."

"Didn't I tell you to stay with the others?" Hanae countered. Sakura, Lee, and Kiba would grow suspicious if she and Sai had suddenly left.

The boy laid a pale hand against his chest, "I am a clone. The real Sai is back with the others." While not entirely sure what he meant, she nodded regardless. "I have something I need to tell you. Sakura told us she is coming here to tell Naruto the news about Sasuke, but I don't think that's her true intention. I think she is coming here to kill Sasuke herself."

The woman quirked her brow at the information. She had suspected something was off by the other woman's aura. Despite her personality, Hanae was not entirely an idiot. She had been a warrior in her own right for seven years and she knew to assess things unspoken. But killing your own teammate? "Why would she do that?"

"Sakura is in love with Sasuke. She and Naruto have a long past with him that I am not entirely versed in myself, but Naruto also values Sasuke a lot. He betrayed Konoha and in doing so he hurt them both very badly. Naruto made a promise to Sakura to bring Sasuke back for them both, but doing so has caused him a lot of pain both physically and spiritually. Sakura probably has different plans in mind, that's why she told us not to say anything to Naruto."

She was happy she trusted the twisting in her stomach that she had experienced the entire pilgrimage. The universe had gifted her with a heightened sense of zanshin and she was keen to listen whenever it made itself known. "Are you saying we can't trust her?"